Mandi
Yemen's ancient underground oven feast — whole lamb or chicken slow-roasted in a tandoor-like pit (tandour) buried in the ground over fragrant wood smoke, served over saffron rice with a tomato-chilli sauce. The definitive dish of southern Arabia.
- Total
- 50 min
- Serves
- 8
- Level
- Hard
Prep 20 min · Cook 30 min
Ingredients
Method
Mix all spices with garlic-ginger paste. Rub deeply into every surface and the slashes of the meat. Marinate overnight if possible.
About 5 min
Oven method (approximating the pit): line a large roasting tin with foil. Place a rack inside. Put the lamb on the rack. Add 500ml water at the bottom (this becomes the braising liquid and steam). Seal very tightly with double foil.
About 11 min
Roast at 150°C/300°F for 3.5–4 hours until the meat falls off the bone and is completely tender. The steam prevents drying.
About 11 min
Pour the accumulated lamb juices into a measuring jug — this is the cooking broth for the rice. Add stock to make up to the required volume (1.5x the volume of the rice).
About 11 min
Cook the rice in the lamb broth: fry whole spices in ghee. Add rice; stir 2 minutes. Add the lamb broth and saffron-rose water. Cook covered on very low heat 18 minutes. Rest 10 minutes.
About 11 min
Mound the saffron rice on a huge platter. Place the whole roasted lamb on top. Garnish with toasted almonds and raisins. Serve with zhug (Yemeni chilli sauce) and tomato sauce (saltah).
About 3 min
Nutrition per serving (estimate)
- Calories
- 780
- Protein
- 52 g
- Carbs
- 72 g
- Fat
- 32 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
- Sugar
- 6 g
- Sodium
- 780 mg
Contains: dairy, nuts
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Recipe by Boon Tools.